She put the phone back in her bag. One meeting wouldn’t do any harm.
CHAPTER 31
The sun was blazing down in spite of the fact that it was only eleven in the morning. Even the cry of the gulls sounded more tired than usual in the heat. The boys had spread out their buckets and spades and had started to build a sandcastle down by the water.
Nora had positioned herself so she could keep an eye on them while reading her book. It was by an English author and was about combining life as a professional woman working full-time with bringing up young children. She was completely absorbed by a hilarious chapter where the mother discovers late one evening that her daughter is supposed to take mince pies into school the following day for a bake sale. In desperation she buys a batch from the supermarket and bashes them with a rolling pin to make them look homemade.
Nora understood exactly how she felt. She stretched in the sun, enjoying the heat. Then she shaped the sand under her towel to provide better support for her neck. Little piles of fine sand had already accumulated in the towel’s creases, in spite of the fact that she had only been lying there for a short while.
Simon came rushing over with his bucket. “Come and help us build a sandcastle!” He threw his sandy arms around her neck.
Nora smiled and kissed his forehead. “Why not?” she said. She put down her book and picked up a spare bucket and spade. She adjusted her bikini and walked down to the water, glancing out across the waves. In the distance she could see an odd shape, a long, dark lump, floating some distance offshore. It looked like an old, rotten log, bobbing awkwardly with the movement of the water.
Something wasn’t right.
“Hang on, I’m just going to look at something,” she shouted to the boys. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She waded out a little way, but it was difficult to see because of the bright sunshine reflected on the water. She tried to shade her eyes with one hand as she moved farther out. The light was so intense that it dazzled her, however much she screwed up her eyes. Soon she was a good thirty yards from the shore and was able to make out more than a vague outline.
Then she realized what it was.
Her hand flew to her mouth in horror.
“This can’t be happening,” she whispered. “Not again.”
She took a deep breath and cautiously moved closer. A man’s body was floating facedown in front of her. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and had longish brown hair. She couldn’t tell whether he was dead or not, but she started to run through the water as fast as she could. It was hard work, and it felt as if it was taking an eternity to cover those last few strides.
When she reached the body she grabbed an arm. Touching it felt strange, but it was surprisingly easy to turn the body over. Once it was on its back, she recognized the man immediately.
Jonny Almhult, Ellen’s son.
Jonny who had mended their fence and lived just a short distance away.
Nora felt the cold sweat break out on her forehead. It was the first time she had touched a dead body. It was almost like a film, but this was real.
She fought off the impulse to throw up and bit her lip hard. Jonny’s body must be brought ashore. The police must be informed immediately.
She glanced over at Adam and Simon. They were still playing and didn’t seem interested in what she was doing.
They mustn’t see the body.
Nora tried to wave to some people on the beach to show she needed help, but none of them noticed. She didn’t yell, because she didn’t want to frighten the children. Instead, she took ahold of Jonny’s T-shirt and started dragging him toward the shore. It took all her strength, and her arms began to ache after only a couple of minutes. She ended up nudging the body along, as far away from the boys as possible. When she finally got him to the water’s edge, both sweat and tears were pouring down her face.
“Don’t come over here,” she shouted to the boys, waving them away. “Stay where you are.”
She ran to her bag and grabbed her phone. She called Thomas as quickly as she could. “It’s Nora. I’m on Trouville beach. I’ve just found Jonny Almhult. He was floating in the water. Like a lump of wood. He’s dead.” She started giggling hysterically and pinched her arm to stop herself. “Sorry. It was just so horrible. I’m here with the boys. I don’t know what to do.” The last sentence ended in a sob. She felt dizzy and could hardly stay on her feet.
Thomas’s familiar voice was a relief. It was the first time she had encountered him in a professional capacity. Just talking to him calmed her down.
“Listen to me, Nora. Take deep, slow breaths. You’re starting to hyperventilate; you need to calm down.”
“OK.” Nora could hear her own voice as if it were coming from a distance. It sounded weak and breathless.
“Sit down on the sand. Are you going to faint?”
“I don’t know,” Nora said.
“Put your head down, and try to slow your breathing.”
Nora did as she was told, and after a few minutes she started to feel better.
“You need to stay there until I get to you,” Thomas said. “Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’m already in the village. I just need to borrow a bike. You can do this. I know you can. Just stay calm. I’ll be there in no time.”
Nora tucked her legs beneath her on the warm sand. It was unreal, seeing a dead body just a few feet away.
In the distance she could see Adam looking anxiously in her direction. He probably thought her blood sugar was low because of her diabetes. Which was better than him finding out what had really happened.
She waved at him.
“Play with Simon,” she shouted. “I’ll be there soon.”
CHAPTER 32
In the afternoon, Jonny’s body was taken to the forensic pathologist in Solna. After that, Thomas spent a few hours at the local station, which by this time was starting to feel like home. He settled down in the small interview room on the first floor, which had been transformed into a temporary office. He did all the necessary paperwork and called both Persson and Margit to inform them that Jonny Almhult was no longer missing.
Dead. Probably drowned.
With some difficulty he persuaded Persson to allow him to remain on the island, rather than travel back to the mainland to attend the press conference, which had been arranged for seven o’clock that evening—just in time to make the evening bulletins.
Thomas insisted that someone had to inform Ellen Almhult that her son was no longer alive. He wasn’t looking forward to the task, but common decency dictated that it couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else. Besides which, the idea of participating in a press conference wasn’t remotely appealing, and there were plenty of others who enjoyed that kind of thing.
Persson raised objections but eventually gave in after complaining about all the idiots who kept asking him for information he didn’t have. The chief constable wanted to be kept up to date daily, while at the same time making it clear that he wasn’t happy about the fact that his vacation was being interrupted.